The Kinks brothers Ray and Dave Davies have performed live together for the first time since 1996, with Ray brought on stage at Dave’s gig at the Islington Assembly Hall in North London last night (18 December).
The pair performed ‘You Really Got Me’, Brooklyn Vegan reports, with Dave later tweeting that he “had a blast with Ray.”
The duo had not performed together since The Kinks split acrimoniously in 1996, and while rumours about a 50th-anniversary collaborative tour were rampant last year, the shows never materialised.
See ‘You Really Got Me’ from The Assembly Hall via YouTube, below:
Ray Davies revealed that he had recorded new material with his brother in an interview with Rolling Stone in November 2014, divulging that the pair had been working on demos as early as 2013, and calling his sibling “a good writer”.
In September of this year, Dave Davies also said there was an “outside shot” of a Kinks reunion, with the musical ‘Sunny Afternoon’ thought to have helped to ease tensions over the past couple of years.
Davies had previously said there was a “50/50” chance of he and his brother Ray reuniting to play live shows but, in an interview with Rolling Stone, the guitarist said that the likelihood of the group playing together again had dwindled.
Ray also commented on the rift:
“I can’t think that far forward. Over the years, I’ve been doing a few new tracks with Mick [Avory], our original drummer. You know about the war between Dave and Mick.
“I don’t work for the United Nations. I’m just a musician. I had a drink with Mick last week, and I asked, ‘What happened to you guys?’ They shared a house in the 1960s. I think some things went on there that created a rivalry.”
Whether any further collaborative appearances will follow the single-track live performance last night is yet to be confirmed.
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